COURTHOUSE — A Lower Providence man’s minimum sentence for sexually assaulting a 19-year-old mentally disabled man has been reduced to the point he could serve at least 2 ½ less years in prison.

Shawn Charles Stankina, 31, of Long Meadow Road, formerly of Birdsboro, Berks County, was re-sentenced in Montgomery County Court to five-to-10 years in a state correctional facility, to be followed by 20 years’ probation, on charges of rape of a mentally disabled person, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a person with a mental disability and indecent assault of a person with a mental disability in connection with incidents that occurred while the victim was in his company at various times between 2008 and 2009.

In August, Judge Joseph A. Smyth had sentenced Stankina to 7 ½ to 15 years in state prison and 20 years’ probation.

However, defense lawyer Basil D. Beck III sought a sentence reduction for Stankina, claiming previous testimony by a relative of the victim about the impact of the crime on the victim was “unfairly prejudicial” in that it contained medical opinions that the witness was not qualified to offer.

Beck argued that in August that relative testified the victim suffered post-traumatic stress as a result of Stankina’s actions and inferred that the victim’s thoughts of suicide were due to the victim’s mental state resulting from Stankina’s conduct. But Beck argued there were no medical opinions to back up the claims of the testimony given by the victim’s relative and that the testimony should not have been given any greater weight when determining Stankina’s sentence.

Assistant District Attorney Matthew Quigg argued the original sentence should remain intact and he presented the judge with some recent medical records regarding the victim’s mental condition. Quigg implied those records showed that the victim had suicidal thoughts.

However, Judge Smyth, conceding that the relative’s testimony was an important factor in fashioning Stankina’s original sentence, said after careful review of the medical records and that absent testimony from a medical expert to corroborate the claims of the relative, he believed Stankina’s sentence should be modified.

Smyth, who convicted Stankina of the charges during a non-jury trial in February, previously ordered Stankina to take part in a community-based sex offender treatment program when he’s released from prison and to undergo regular polygraph exams to ensure the safety of the community.

With the conviction, the judge determined Stankina illegally engaged in sexual activity with a person who suffered from a mental disability that rendered him incapable of consenting to sex.

The judge acquitted Stankina, the father of two toddler children, of charges he forcibly sexually assaulted the mentally disabled man.

At the time of the assaults, the victim was functioning intellectually and emotionally at the level of a 10-year-old, according to testimony.

During the trial, Quigg alleged Stankina, who previously resided on West First Street in Birdsboro, took advantage of a mentally handicapped man and knew that the victim was easily manipulated into doing what he wanted.

But Beck argued the case involved two adult males who were having consensual sexual relations and that Stankina at no time engaged in any illegal conduct.

An investigation of Stankina began in December 2009 when doctors from The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia notified police that the mentally disabled man confided to medical officials that he had been sexually assaulted by Stankina at locations in Lower Providence.

When police interviewed Stankina about the allegations he confessed to the conduct, the arrest affidavit alleged.

After the sexual assaults, Stankina told the victim that the victim couldn’t tell anyone about the sex “because if he did they would not be allowed to hang out anymore,” according to the criminal complaint.